11 But now Christ has come as the high priest of the good things of the future, through this greater and better Tent, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this world,
For the law, being only a poor copy of the future good things, and not the true image of those things, is never able to make the people who come to the altar every year with the same offerings completely clean.
Because of this it was necessary for him to be made like his brothers in every way, so that he might be a high priest full of mercy and keeping faith in everything to do with God, making offerings for the sins of the people.
See, I am sending my servant, and he will make ready the way before me; and the Lord, whom you are looking for, will suddenly come to his Temple; and the angel of the agreement, in whom you have delight, see, he is coming, says the Lord of armies.
And we are certain that the Son of God has come, and has given us a clear vision, so that we may see him who is true, and we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.
For this cause it was necessary to make the copies of the things in heaven clean with these offerings; but the things themselves are made clean with better offerings than these. For Christ did not go into a holy place which had been made by men's hands as the copy of the true one; but he went into heaven itself, and now takes his place before the face of God for us.
Now of the things we are saying this is the chief point: We have such a high priest, who has taken his place at the right hand of God's high seat of glory in heaven, As a servant of the holy things and of the true Tent, which was put up by God, not by man.
In the same way Christ did not take for himself the glory of being made a high priest, but was given it by him who said, You are my Son, this day I have given you being: As he says in another place, You are a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek.
The God who made the earth and everything in it, he, being Lord of heaven and earth, is not housed in buildings made with hands; And he is not dependent on the work of men's hands, as if he had need of anything, for he himself gives to all life and breath and all things;
But still, the Most High has not his resting-place in houses made with hands, as the prophet says,
The woman said to him, I am certain that the Messiah, who is named Christ, is coming; when he comes he will make all things clear to us.
He said in our hearing, I will put an end to this Temple which is made with hands, and in three days I will make another without hands.
The rod of authority will not be taken from Judah, and he will not be without a law-giver, till he comes who has the right to it, and the peoples will put themselves under his rule.
By this you may have knowledge of the Spirit of God: every spirit which says that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God: And every spirit which does not say this is not from God: this is the spirit of Antichrist, of which you have had word; and it is in the world even now.
Now the first agreement had its rules of worship, and a holy order. For the first Tent was made ready, having in it the vessels for the lights and the table and the ordering of the bread; and this is named the holy place. And inside the second veil was the place which is named the Holy of holies; Having a vessel of gold in it for burning perfumes, and the ark of the agreement, which was covered with gold and which had in it a pot made of gold for the manna, and Aaron's rod which put out buds, and the stones with the writing of the agreement; And over it were the winged ones of glory with their wings covering the mercy-seat; about which it is not possible now to say anything in detail. Now while these things were in existence, the priests went into the first Tent at all times, for prayer and the making of offerings. But only the high priest went into the second, once a year, not without making an offering of blood for himself and for the errors of the people: The Holy Spirit witnessing by this that the way into the holy place had not at that time been made open, while the first Tent was still in being; And this is an image of the present time; when the offerings which are given are not able to make the heart of the worshipper completely clean,
Now if it was possible for things to be made complete through the priests of the house of Levi (for the law was given to the people in connection with them), what need was there for another priest who was of the order of Melchizedek and not of the order of Aaron? Because if the priests are changed, it is necessary to make a change in the law. For he of whom these things are said comes of another tribe, of which no man has ever made offerings at the altar. Because it is clear that our Lord comes out of Judah, and Moses said nothing about priests from that tribe. And this is even more clear if a second priest has come up who is like Melchizedek, That is to say, not made by a law based on the flesh, but by the power of a life without end: For it has been witnessed of him, You are a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek. So the law which went before is put on one side, because it was feeble and without profit. (Because the law made nothing complete), and in its place there is a better hope, through which we come near to God. And as this is not without the taking of an oath (For those were made priests without an oath, but this one was made a priest with an oath by him who says of him, The Lord gave his oath, which he will not take back, that you are a priest for ever); By so much is it a better agreement which we have through Jesus. And it is true that there have been a great number of those priests, because death does not let them go on for ever; But this priest, because his life goes on for ever, is unchanging. So that he is fully able to be the saviour of all who come to God through him, because he is ever living to make prayer to God for them. It was right for us to have such a high priest, one who is holy and without evil, doing no wrong, having no part with sinners, and made higher than the heavens: Who has no need to make offerings for sins every day, like those high priests, first for himself, and then for the people; because he did this once and for ever when he made an offering of himself.
For this Melchizedek, the king of Salem, a priest of the Most High God, who gave Abraham his blessing, meeting him when he came back after putting the kings to death,
For we have not a high priest who is not able to be touched by the feelings of our feeble flesh; but we have one who has been tested in all points as we ourselves are tested, but without sin.
In whom you had a circumcision not made with hands, in the putting off of the body of the flesh, in the circumcision of Christ;
To say to him, Are you he who is to come, or are we waiting for another?
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on Hebrews 9
Commentary on Hebrews 9 Matthew Henry Commentary
Chapter 9
The apostle, having declared the Old-Testament dispensation antiquated and vanishing away, proceeds to let the Hebrews see the correspondence there was between the Old Testament and the New; and that whatever was excellent in the Old was typical and representative of the New, which therefore must as far excel the Old as the substance does the shadow. The Old Testament was never intended to be rested in, but to prepare for the institutions of the gospel. And here he treats,
Hbr 9:1-7
Here,
Hbr 9:8-14
In these verses the apostle undertakes to deliver to us the mind and meaning of the Holy Ghost in all the ordinances of the tabernacle and legal economy, comprehending both place and worship. The scriptures of the Old Testament were given by inspiration of God; holy men of old spoke and wrote as the Holy Ghost directed them. And these Old-Testament records are of great use and significancy, not only to those who first received them, but even to Christians, who ought not to satisfy themselves with reading the institutes of the Levitical law, but should learn what the Holy Ghost signifies and suggests to them thereby. Now here are several things mentioned as the things that the Holy Ghost signified and certified to his people hereby.
Hbr 9:15-22
In these verses the apostle considers the gospel under the notion of a will or testament, the new or last will and testament of Christ, and shows the necessity and efficacy of the blood of Christ to make this testament valid and effectual.
Hbr 9:23-28
In this last part of the chapter, the apostle goes on to tell us what the Holy Ghost has signified to us by the legal purifications of the patterns of the things in heaven, inferring thence the necessity of better sacrifices to consecrate the heavenly things themselves.